April 16, 2019 |
Continental Celebrates Grand Opening of Thailand Plant
Continental has celebrated the grand opening of its Greenfield Tyre Plant in Rayong, Thailand, which started operations exactly on schedule, only two years after the groundbreaking ceremony.
The new tyre plant is a €250 million investment in Thailand and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to produce about four million passenger and light truck premium tyres per year for Thailand and the whole APAC by 2022.
“We are honoured to celebrate with you today the opening of our first Greenfield Tyre Plant in Thailand. The investment here, in Rayong, is an integral part of Continental’s Tyre Division growth strategy called ‘Vision 2025’ and further improves the balance of our global tyre manufacturing footprint, strengthening our production capacities for Asia Pacific and enabling us to better serve our customers in the region,” Nikolai Setzer, Member of the Executive Board of Continental and Head of Tyre Division said at the celebrations, held on March 27, 2019.
Around 500 guests attended the celebrations, including Dr. Somchai Harnhirun, Deputy Minister of Industry of the Kingdom of Thailand, Continental management - including Setzer - the local project team and employees, as well as suppliers, dealers and representatives of academic institutions.
“It is an honour for me to be present at Continental’s opening ceremony for their first tyre plant in Thailand. This new €250million tyre manufacturing facility completes the automotive industry landscape in Thailand, strengthening the local economy in Rayong and creating hundreds of new jobs in Thailand. We are glad to have Continental in Thailand and we wish the company and all its employees success in their mission to ensure more traffic safety and driving comfort on the roads of Thailand and the region,” highlighted Dr. Somchai Harnhirun in his speech at the event.
The Rayong plant is the seventh Greenfield manufacturing facility Continental has opened since 1998, and it expands the Tyre Division’s global production footprint to 20 plants in 17 countries.
